Stunning Film Shows the Dramatic Storms of the American Heartland

Storm chasing photographer Mike Olbinski is at it again. Earlier this month, Olbinksi amazed us with his dramatic photos of lightning striking the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, and now he has released a surreal and beautiful time-lapse film displaying the dramatic storms of the American Heartland.

The film was selected as a coveted Vimeo Staff Pick almost immediately and it’s easy to see why. From the quiet and peaceful opening scenes that build up to the explosive conclusion, Olbinski takes viewers for an intense ride with him as he pursues his passion of documenting these powerful forces of nature.

It is hard to believe that this was only Olbinski’s second extended storm chase. According to Olbinski’s account on his Vimeo page, his only previous extended chase was seven days last year prior to the 14 days of chasing that resulted in the footage seen in this film.

Leaving from his home in Arizona, Olbinski drove 12,000 miles through ten states and captured 45,000 frames over a two week period in late May and early June.

Olbinski has many people to thank for the support he received while making this film, but none more than his wife Jina. Olbinski explains:

Above everyone else, the person I need to thank the most is of course, my wife. To let me go for that long, to never complain, to never discourage me…but to only believe in me…how could I be so lucky to deserve a wife like that? We have three kids and that’s tough on a parent to have her husband away that long. It will never cease to amaze me that I would not be here, doing this, if it wasn’t for her support and encouragement.

Not only is Olbinski grateful for his wife’s support, but every person who views this incredible film is grateful as well, as without it, we may not be riding shotgun on an dramatic storm chase through the American heartland.

The name for this shot stems from this storm being my very, very last chase after being out on the plains for 12 straight days. It was an incredible time and this supercell east of Aurora, Colorado was a welcomed send-off.

On a long, lonely highway between Merriman and Hyannis, Nebraska…a huge MCS moves by, leaving behind it wet roads and a gorgeous sky filled with mammatus clouds. A bit of lightning snakes around on the left side of the storm.

After racing south from North Dakota for over 90 minutes to catch up with a stationary supercell over Interstate 90 northwest of Rapid City, SD…I finally caught up with it and was treated to one of the best days of chasing I had during my 12-day trip. My buddy James Langford guided me up to Skyline Road at the end of the evening as this dying supercell dropped CG after CG just past the city. Was a stunning way to end the day and I was going nuts catching bolt after bolt.

I had to hold my tripod down as I was being blasted by 40-50mph winds up on the ridge above Billings, Montana. A fantastic light show…major thanks to my friend James Langford who is from Montana, for passing on this location to me!

Driving through an abandoned town and then turning the corner to see this scene was truly one I’ll never forget. We had just witnessed the Dora tornado 30 minutes before, and so we blasted towards the storm in hopes of seeing another one. This was just as good. The sun igniting the rain into a horizon of orange, the blue hail core in the supercell and lightning. It was incredible to witness. I know if I returned to this spot during the day, it would seem normal and boring. But on this night, with the wind, the colors…the lightning…it felt like we were watching the end of the world or something.

On the second day of a 12-day chase trip to the central plains, we caught up with this supercell in its early stages just south of Lamar, Colorado. We started the day in Oklahoma and would chase all afternoon and end up in Kansas.

This supercell north of Interstate 40 had some nasty rotation on radar which you can see up ahead over the middle of the road. A possible tornado was in there but no one ever saw it.

I watched this supercell start off as simple towering cumulus and two hours later it became this beast hovering over the farmlands northwest of Pampa, Texas.

This storm earlier spawned a brief tornado near Groom, Texas. It moved to the east/northeast across the rolling farmlands…I caught up to it once again here just north of Alanreed. The hail core and structure was magnificent to behold.

Near Burlington, Colorado, a severe storm that moments before had pelted me with hail, moves off into the plains of Kansas…leaving behind it a beautiful rainbow.

Stunning Film Shows the Dramatic Storms of the American Heartland was last modified: June 15th, 2016 by Michael Bonocore